CLEARWATER, Fla. — There were two catchers in 2012 who were 35 or older and caught 100 games or more for the season. One was A.J. Pierzynski, who aside from having a reputation as one of the least-liked opposing players by fans and peers, has been a veritable iron man behind the plate. With 1,323 appearances at catcher in the last 10 years — including 126 for the White Sox in 2012 — the 36-year-old has been by far the most durable catcher of the last decade.

The other 35-and-over catcher to start 100-plus games last season was 37-year-old Jose Molina, and his 102 starts behind the plate for Tampa Bay last season happened to be the first time he ever had caught triple-digit games in his career.

That leads to the conundrum the Phillies have when it comes to Carlos Ruiz. The veteran catcher is beloved by fans and revered by pitchers. He also becomes a free agent at the end of the 2013 season, and turns 35 prior to the 2014 season.

The natural question is: Will the Phillies think about re-signing their only All-Star position player from a season ago? If they do, can they afford to risk a handsome fee on him, and for how many years?

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“Listen,” general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said, “Chooch is a fine, fine catcher and an important part of our club. It’s just like a quarterback. You just don’t know. Sometimes you have to have two pretty good ones.

“Chooch, I hope is with us a long time. A lot of these things will play themselves out. Hopefully he continues to grow. I think he’s still growing offensively. When his body starts to break down, that sort of stuff, who knows?”

When it comes down to it, the Phillies have to wonder whether “Chooch” can handle a strong majority of starts at 35 and beyond — and when you look at his track record in his first six seasons as the Phils’ No. 1 catcher, it’s tough to trust him with that duty.

Despite being the No. 1 guy since May 2007, Ruiz only has averaged 102 starts per season behind the plate for the Phillies since then. He made just 95 starts last season, as plantar fasciitis sidelined him for five weeks. The most games Ruiz has started in a season is 113 in 2011. Eleven big-league catchers made at least that many starts behind the dish in 2012 alone.

This season Ruiz will be 25 games in the hole to start, as he serves a suspension for testing positive for a stimulant. Whether that will benefit him at the back end of the season remains to be seen.

“Personally, I feel great,” Ruiz said. “There are 162 games, and I definitely want to be able to go 120 to 135.”

While durability has been an issue for Ruiz throughout his career, he has not had the knee or back problems that so often plague catchers as they get up in age. It helps that Ruiz isn’t carrying around a huge frame — at 5-7, 210, he’s compact and according to Amaro, his body-fat percentage is at its lowest level this spring than it has been in years.

Ruiz also believes that his late-career conversion to catching — he didn’t start playing behind the plate until he was 21 — has preserved his back and knees.

“My legs feel OK because I used to play the infield,” he said. “When you are growing up and catching a lot, that’s when your legs start to feel their age and sore.

“So far I feel good. I want to go out there and play every day.”

The foot problem he had last season is the type of nagging problem that can be a complication for a veteran. According to Ruiz, he has cut down on running to take some of the pounding off his feet, and the plantar fasciitis hasn’t flared up since.

The Phillies likely will go with Erik Kratz, who turns 33 in June, and Humberto Quintero (33) as their catching tandem this season. Although he was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday, Tommy Joseph followed an impressive month with Double-A Reading after coming to the Phils in the Hunter Pence trade last season with an absolutely fabulous spring-training performance. Joseph is 21, and even if he earns a spot with the Phils in 2014, it’s tough to imagine him being more than a platoon catcher as a rookie.

It places Amaro in a tricky spot with Ruiz, one where it’s tough to discern how many years and how much money could be dedicated to another contract with the veteran, not to mention how much catching he would be expected to do.

“He’s not the only difficult decision,” Amaro said. “Chase Utley and Roy Halladay, they are guys who are important parts of our club and in a lot of the ways the core of our club who are going to be free agents, and we’re going to have to make tough decision over the course of this year.”